


It isn’t you.

by TheIceQueen



Series: Buttercreams and friends prompts. [11]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Bad Days, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Insecurity, Light Angst, Roommates, Self-Doubt, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 21:11:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15827013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIceQueen/pseuds/TheIceQueen
Summary: Prompt:Just wondering if you'd do one where Byron's having a really shitty day so Joe comforts him? I dunno. Make up what he's upset about, that's up to you!





	It isn’t you.

Byron was the funny roommate. He was the happy-go-lucky guy, who made people feel good. He liked being that guy. Hell, he was proud to be.

Today was different. He wanted to go meet Joe in the kitchen, with a big smile on his face, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t find it, and he couldn’t even make one up, so he stayed in his room. He stayed in bed looking at his phone, which only made him feel worse. No comments and no tweets for hours now. It was like he was fallen of the earth of social media. The worst however was that there was no mails. He’d expected that these days.

He threw the phone to the opposite side of the bed and buried his head in the pillow, trying to sleep from it all.

Minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “You awake…? Byron?”

Byron turned his face up from the pillow and hummed an answer to Joe.

“Are you okay? It’s two pm.”

Byron had hoped it was evening, but apparently time moves slow when you do nothing.

“I’m fine. Just tired.” He turned to his back and looked at the ceiling. The part about being tired wasn’t a lie. Too bad he couldn’t sleep.  

There was a pause before Joe answered. Byron knew that it was out of the ordinary, so Joe were bound to think it over before answering.

“Okay, By… Let me know if you need anything.” The footsteps in the hall, let away from the door and Byron was left with silence. He picked up his phone. Nothing.

* * *

Sweating from tossing and turning in the bed, made him even more frustrated than not being able to sleep. He was starting to wonder how long it would take for him to get tired enough when he hadn’t done anything else all day.

“Byron…?” Joe’s voice was quiet, only just making it through the closed door. “Are you sleeping?”

Byron sat against the headboard and pulled his knees to his chin. He wasn’t going to sleep anyway, but he didn’t want to leave his room or even see Joe right now.

“I’m up.”

“Are you hungry? You haven’t been out all day.” Joe sounded almost concerned.

Maybe he was actually getting a bit hungry. He looked at his phone; six pm. He hadn’t gotten anything since last night. He suddenly realized that he was starving, but he didn’t even want to think about food. It didn’t really matter. He just wanted this feeling to go away.

“I’m good. I’ll just sleep a bit.”

The door opened, and Joe took a resolute step inside. With one hand still on the door knob, he stared at the taller boy all crumpled up in the bed.

“By. You’ve been sleeping all day. Are you sick?”

Hurriedly, Byron looked at his knees. He couldn’t face anyone right now. He shook his head slowly. Joe’s sudden action had shocked him to a point where he’d might cry if he started to speak.

“Then what? Something’s wrong?”

The sound of Joe’s bare feet on the wooden floor, indicated that he was coming closer. Byron wanted to stop him. To tell him to leave, but he wouldn’t talk with that big lump in his throat, so he just shook his head again, and wrapped his arms tight around his legs.

He felt a light hand on his forearm and then the mattress dipped where Joe sat down. “C’mon. What is it?”

Joe wasn’t that guy. Byron knew that Joe was a good friend and a great roommate. He could tell him anything if he wanted, he’d just never had the need, and Joe had certainly never asked for it.

“Byron. Is everything okay at home?”

 _That_ question made him look up at Joe. He nodded rapidly and forced a little smile. Joe’s face and body looked like he’d just dropped 50 pounds of worry on the floor. He looked Byron in the eyes.

“Then what? This isn’t you.”

“I know.” Byron whispered and looked at his hands, still holding his legs tight to his chest.

Joe got settled in the bed, with his legs folded in front of him, and looked at his roommate like he was ready for what was about to come.

“Tell me.”

Byron stared at the brit, sitting with his back straight and his hands folded in his lap. “I… ehm…”

“Oh, c’mon, By. How many times have I had a bad day, or breakdown, or just freaked out over something ridiculous? You know it’s not possible to tell me anything that’s too crazy, right?”

Byron smiled shortly, without working for it this time. Joe was right. Byron was the calm one, the sensible one who could make any situation, Joe had made too much of, into a fun or easy thing. But not this time.

“I know, but…”

Joe looked at his face and put a firm hand on Byron’s knee.

“I just feel crappy, I guess. It’s just a bad day.”

Joe leaned forward a little and took in the sight of this new side of his roommate. “You don’t _just_ have bad days. I don’t think I’ve seen you have a bad day, apart from that flu you got last winter.”

“I’m just worried…” Byron’s throat narrowed, and he had to concentrate on getting the next words out, and not letting out tears from his glazed over eyes, in the process. “I haven’t got any offers… on anything.”

Joe shook his head and Byron understood that it hadn’t been explanation enough.

“The other times I’ve been in a movie. I got offers for commercials and modeling almost the day after it came out…” He took a deep breath and stole a quick glare at his silent phone on the mattress. “It’s been over a week Joe. Was it that bad? What if I don’t get anything? I can’t pay rent, I can’t live here… in London. The music isn’t enough, you know.”

Almost before Byron had finished his rambling, Joe had moved closer and taken hold on both of Byron’s shoulders.

“Hey! You’re spiraling. Isn’t that what you always say to me, when I get nervous about YouTube?” Byron didn’t have time to nod before Joe continued. “You were great! Trust me, I would be the first to make fun of it, if it was bad. It wasn’t.”

A smile formed on Byron’s face. Joe was never going to let him forget that chocolate commercial, and secretly he loved the jokes.

The grip on Byron’s shoulders tightened and made him look at Joe.

“Listen… By, you don’t have to worry. I’ll have your back, just like you have mine. And you don’t have to worry about the jobs either. It’s summer, people travel and sleep… and drink. It’s called a holiday. Wait a few more weeks and you’ll see.”

Byron knew that Joe was right, but he was still so unbelievably tired that everything seemed too much to think about.

“So…” Joe stood up. “…are you going to eat the pizza I ordered in here or in the main room. You _are_ eating.”

Only Joe would be able to make a demand like that, result in a chuckle from Byron in his current state. Byron shook his head with a smile, and followed Joe to the couch.


End file.
